Ideas of Hermann Minkowski, by Text

[German, 1864 - 1909, Taught mathematics at several German Universities.]

Space alone, and time alone, will fade away, and only their union has an independent reality

Full Idea:
Henceforth, space by itself, and time by itself, are doomed to fade away into mere shadows, and only a kind of union of the two will preserve an independent reality.

From:
Hermann Minkowski (Space and Time [1908], Intro)

A reaction:
Notice the qualification that it is a 'kind of' union. Deep confusion arises from exaggerating the analogy between space and time. Craig Bourne remarks (2006:157) that this shows independence of measurement, not of reality